Shank sanding guide assembly



Oct. 27, 1970 H. R. PADOVANI ETAL 3,535,724

SHANK SANDING GUIDE ASSEMBLY Filed April 15, 1969 INVENTORS ROY E. SMITH BY flfliolwuht HENRY R. PADOVANI 6 United States Patent 3,535,724 SHANK SANDING GUIDE ASSEMBLY Henry R. Padovani, Austell, and Roy E. Smith, Atlanta, Ga., assignors to The Auto-Soler Company, Atlanta, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Filed Apr. 15, 1969, Ser. No. 816,234

Int. Cl. A43d US. Cl. 12-103 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A guide assembly used to facilitate straight-line grooving of the shank portion of a shoe sole in preparation for receiving a replacement half-sole thereat. The guide as sembly includes a channel member presenting a generally flat side face for guiding abutment with a sanding tool used for grooving, and a slide member received by the channel member, the channel member and slide member being provided, respectively, with cooperating spaced clamping elements and being acted upon by a spring member to urge the clamping elements into engagement with the sides of the shoe to clamp the guide assembly in place across the sole of the shoe with the flat side face of the channel member disposed at the shank portion of the sole to define a fixed position at which the sanding tool is applied to the shank portion for grooving thereof.

BACKGROUND OE THE INVENTION In shoe repair operations for replacing the worn portion of a shoe sole with a new half-sole, the old sole is cut with a sharp instrument across the unworn shank portion thereof to allow removal of the worn part of the sole, and this cut is feathered so as to leave a tongue projecting from the shank portion to which the replacement half-sole is attached for insuring that a secure joint is made therebetween.

Because of the relatively rough nature of this cutting procedure, it is necessary to groove the shank portion with a suitable sanding tool to remove any unevenness at the cut edge thereof which will abut the straight rear edge of the replacement half-sole, and to form a shoulder at this shank portion edge having a depth which corresponds to the thickness of the replacement half-sole, so that when the replacement half-sole is ultimately secured in place thereat it will neatly abut this shoulder and appear therewith substantially as a continuous sole piece.

Heretofore, this grooving operation has been accomplished by the shoe repairman manually manipulating the shoe to pass the uneven edge of the shank portion along the sanding tool while visually checking the straightline extent and the depth of the shoulder as it is formed by the sanding tool, and even though a satisfactory result may usually be obtained in this manner by an experienced shoe repairman, he must exercise a reasonable amount of care in advancing the shoe across the sanding tool in a straight line. Additionally, in situations where the shoe must be applied to the sanding tool repeatedly to increase the depth of the shank portion shoulder in small increments until this depth corresponds substantially to the thickness of the replacement half-sole, the degree of care required increases considerably since each grooving pass must be made at the same location on the shank portion.

In accordance with the present invention, this grooving operation is facilitated greatly by a guide assembly which can be attached across the sole of a shoe to define a fixed position at which the sanding tool contacts the sole shank portion to assure straight-line grooving thereof, regardless of how many times the shoe is applied to the sanding tool, and even when the grooving operation is performed "ice by a repairman having little experience and no special skills.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The guide assembly of the present invention includes a body portion provided with clamping elements for attaching it to a shoe across the cut shank portion of the sole thereof, the body portion presenting a flat side face generally disposed along the cut edge of the shank portion to cooperate with the side edge of the sanding tool to direct the shoe along a straight path each time it in applied to the sanding tool whereby the groove formed by the sanding tool will be perfectly straight.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the body portion has an arcuate extent that conforms generally with the arcuate configuration of the shank portion of the shoe sole so that the lower edge of the flat side face will lie in substantially abutting relation with this shank portion to improve the guiding characteristics of this side face and to facilitate clamping the guide assembly at the side edges of the shank portion of the sole.

The body portion includes a channel member presenting at each side thereof a first guiding face, and a slide member received by the channel member in sliding relation thereto. The channel member is formed with a depending clamping element at one end thereof, an oppositely projecting apertured flange at the other end thereof, and a slot located intermediately of the clamping element and the projecting flange; and the slide member is formed with a handle at one end thereof, a flange at the other end thereof which projects through the channel member slot for disposition in spaced, generally parallel relation to the channel member flange, and an intermediately located clamping element disposed in spaced relation to the channel member clamping element. The channel member and slide member are held together by a rod element which extends through the apertured channel member flange to endwise connections with the slide member handle and flange, respectively, and a coil spring is disposed about the rod element and bottomed against the flanges on the channel member and slide mem ber to act thereon for urging the respective clamping elements toward one another whereby they can selectively engage the sides of the shoe sole to attach the guide assembly in place across the shank portion of the shoe so e.

With this preferred construction, the shoe repairman can readily attach the guide assembly in place by first engaging the channel member clamping element at one side edge of the shank portion, then pulling the slide member handle against the bias of the spring until the slide member clamping element is in a position to engage the other side edge of the shank portion, and then releasing the handle to allow the spring to urge the clamping elements into holding engagement with the side edges of the shank portion. The simplicity of this attachment procedure enables the repairman to locate easily one of the flat side faces of the channel member along the shank portion edge which is to be grooved. With the guide assembly properly attached in place in this manner, the shoe may then be manipulated to apply the shank portion shoulder to the sanding tool with the repairman employing the appropriate side face of the channel member as a guide surface for abutment with the side edge of the sanding tool to assure straight-line grooving of the shoulder. Moreover, since the side face of the guide assembly defines a fixed position at which the shank portion is grooved, the shoe may be repeatedly applied to the sanding tool with the further assurance that the shank portion will be grooved at the same location each time it is brought into contact with the sanding tool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of the guide assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the guide assembly illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken at line 33 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the guide assembly attached to a shoe which is being grooved by a sanding tool; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the shoe after it has been grooved using the guide assembly of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in detail to the drawings, FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate a guide assembly which comprises a channel member 12 formed to include a flat center portion 1 4 and two perpendicularly depending side walls 16 presenting generally flat side faces 18, 18. One end of the channel member 12 is turned to form a depending clamping element 20 and the other end of the channel member 12 is turned oppositely to form a projecting flange 22 provided with an aperture 24 therein, and a slot 26 is formed in the center portion 14 intermediately of the flange 22 and the clamping element 20.

A slide member 28 is received beneath the center portion 14 and between the side walls 16 of the channel member 12 in sliding relation therewith, and it includes a circular handle member 30 at one of its ends, a notched flange 32 at the other of the ends, and an intermediately located clamping element 34 which is struck out of the slide member 28 for cooperating with the channel member clamping element 20 as will be described in greater detail presently.

To assemble the channel member 12 and the slide member 28, the latter is held in perpendicular relation to the former so that the slide member flange 32 can pass through the channel member slot 26 until the notched part of this flange 32 coincides with the slot 26 whereupon the slide member 28 is turned until it is parallel to the channel member 12 and received between the side walls 16 thereof with the slide member flange 32 projecting through the slot 26 in generally parallel relation to the channel member flange 22.

As thus assembled, the channel member 12 and the slide member 28 are held in place by a rod element 36 that extends freely through the aperture 24 in the channel member flange 22 and is connected endwise to the slide member flange 32 and the handle member 30, respectively, these connections preferably being made by welding.

A coil spring 38 is disposed about the rod element 36 and bottomed against the channel member flange 22 and the slide member flange 32, respectively, so that, with respect to the channel member 12, the slide member 28 is urged to the left in FIG. 1 and the slide member clamping element 34 is accordingly urged toward the channel member clamping element '20.

FIG. 4 illustrates the guide assembly 10 attached to a shoe S that has been initially cut at the sole shank portion p to remove the worn portion of the old sole, a projecting tongue T being left as previously described. To attach the guide assembly 10 in place, the shoe repairman locates it across the shank portion p generally along the cut edge thereof and engages the channel member clamping element 20 at one side edge of the shoe sole. The repairman then pulls the handle member 30 to move the slide member 28 with respect to the channel member 12 against the bias of the spring 38 until the slide member clamping element 34 is positioned slightly beyond the other side edge of the shoe sole, whereupon the handle member 30 is released to allow the spring 38 to urge the clamping elements 20 and 34 into positive engagement with the side edges of the shoe sole for holding the guide assembly 10 in place across the shank portion p with the side face 18 of the channel member 12 disposed along the cut edge of the shank portion p as seen in FIG. 4.

It should be noted here that the channel member 12 and the slide member 28 are formed with an arcuate extent (see FIG. 1) conforming generally with a like arcuate configuration presented by the shank portion of a shoe sole whereby the bottom edge of the side face 18 will lie in substantially abutting relation with the sole shank portion p as illustrated in FIG. 4.

When the guide assembly 10 is attached in place across the shank portion p, the side face 18 presents a flat surface for guiding abutment with a sanding tool, such as a sanding wheel W as seen in FIG. 4, and thereby defines a fixed position at which the sanding wheel W contacts the shank portion p each time it is grooved. Thus, the repairman passes the shoe S along the sanding Wheel W with the side edge thereof in guiding abutment with the flat side face 18 of the guide assembly 10 as illustrated in FIG. 4, whereby the shank portion p will be grooved along a straight line. Additionally, if the grooving operation must be repeated to increase the depth of the shoulder formed at the shank portion p as previously mentioned, the shank portion p will be grooved at the same location each time it is brought into contact with the sanding wheel W because of the fixed guide position defined by the side face 18.

Thus, the shank portion p, as illustrated in FIG. 5, is grooved along a straight line to any desired depth for neatly receiving the rear edge of a replacement half-sole threat, and by virtue of the fixed guide surface provided by the guide assembly of the present invention, the grooving operation can be performed even by an inexperienced repairman in less time than Was required heretofore.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to be limited by this description or otherwise to exclude any variation or equivalent arrangement that would be apparent from, or reasonably suggested by, the foregoing disclosure to the skill of the art.

We claim:

1. A guide assembly for use in shoe repair operations to facilitate grooving the shank portion of a shoe sole with a sanding tool in preparation for receiving a replacement half-sole thereat, said guide assembly including a body portion presenting a generally flat side face for guiding abutment with a sanding tool disposed thereagainst, and clamping means for selectively attaching said body portion to a shoe across esaid sole shank portion with said side face disposed to define a fixed position at which said sanding tool is applied to said sole shank portion for grooving thereof.

2. A guide assembly as defined in claim 1 and further characterized in that said body portion is formed with an arcuate extent conforming generally with a like arcuate configuration of said sole shank portion whereby an edge of said body portion side face will lie in substantially abutting relation with said sole shank portion when said body portion is clamped in place.

3. A guide assembly as defined in claim 1 and further characterized in that said body portion includes a channel member formed with a first clamping element depending therefrom, a slide member received by said channel member and formed with a corresponding second clamping element depending therefrom, and biasing means cooperating with said channel member and said slide member to urge said first and second clamping elements toward one another for engagement with said shoe sole to attach said guide assembly in place.

4. A guide assembly as defined in claim 3 and further characterized in that said channel member includes an apertured first flange projecting therefrom oppositely with respect to said depending first clamping element, and includes a slot located intermediate said first flange and said first clamping element, in that said slide member includes at the respective ends thereof a handle member and a second flange projecting through said channel member slot in generally parallel relation to said first flange, in that a rod element extends through the aperture in said first flange to connections with said second flange and said handle element, respectively, and in that tomed against said first and second flanges, respectively, to urge the clamping element associated With said channel member and said slide member toward one another.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,607,058 8/1952 Ferguson 12-103 3,405,416 10/1968 Winig 12-103 a coil spring is disposed about said rod element and bot- 10 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner 

